Vikramaditya again was on his way with Betal on his shoulder. Betal did not like his silence. So, it began to narrate a new tale with the same conditions.
“There lived a rich merchant called Gunawant in a certain town. He was a very religious character. His wife was a beauteous womal but lax in morals. She bore a child sired by a lover. It was a female. Because of cross breeding the girl was more beautiful than her mother. She grew up into a full blooded young woman named Ratnawati. Like her mother she too was alien to virtue. She too took on lovers and indulged in amorous escapades like her mother.
Meanwhile, her father was looking for a suitable groom for his daughter like a responsible parent. Then, he learnt that his daughter was having affair with the domestic servant who was a healthy young man. Gunawant dismissed his servant.
The servant got another job in the same town and hired a room near his new work place. The girl continued to meet the servant stealthily whenever she found opportunity. Her mother knew about her activities and did not object. Infact, she would be very helpful in keeping her affairs secret.
The father in the meanwhile found a good boy for the daughter. In an auspicious hour he got Ratnawati married to a well settled youngman suitable in every way and lived in the same town. In her husband’s home Ratnawati discovered to her delight that she was in the neighbourhood of room in which her lover servant lived. Now she met her lover more often than before. Ratnawati had bought the loyalty of the maid of her house. She gladly accepted to serve as go between for some rewards.
With the liaisoning of the maid Ratnawati would dash to her lover’s room for indulgences. Infact the maid got her brother also introduced to the service of her mistress. He too would often come to service Ratnawati on the pretext of seeing his sister.
One day, the master of the house got suspicious that his wife and the maid were doing some hanky- panky business in his house. He relieved the maid of her services and banished her.
Thus, the games of Ratnawati got spoiled. She pined for her lovers. One day she got a chance when her husband was called away on some business. She dashed to her lover’s room and bared her heart to him. She told him how miserable she felt without him. The lover consoled her saying that the things would cool down with time and they would be meeting again like before.
Thus consoled Ratnawati returned but she could not bear with the situation. She thirsted for love. One day she pined feverishly for her lover having lost patience. Her condition angered her husband and he got the lover servant of his wife poisoned through a confidant. After eating the poisoned food the servant lay dead in his bed.
On that very night Ratnawati craved for her lover. Out of impatience and desperation she dashed to the room of her lover. She had put on her jewellery to charm her lover. A thief saw a bedecked woman like a loaded bride going along briskly for some randezevous. He decided to follow her greeding for her jewellery. He wondered where and why she was going in that state in such haste.
Ratnawati went into her lover’s room. The thief sat quietly at the door spying through a hole.
In front of that house there was a tree on which an evil spirit lived. It saw the desirable woman going in where her lover lay dead. The spirit thought of entering into the dead body of the lover to enjoy the love smitten woman. It did that and the dead body came to life.
Ratnawati ran into its arms and they made love feverishly. In excitement the spirit possessed body bit off the nose of Ratnawati. The spirit then exited and flashed off to its post on the tree.
The bitten off nose remained inside the mouth of the dead body of her ex-lover. Ratnawati also realised her lover infact had dead suddenly. She panicked and ran away. All this time the thief watched as a silent spectator. He was greatly confused about what was unfolding before him. It made no sense. He quietly followed Ratnawati as she dashed past him without noticing his presence there.
She went home and started wailing in the room of her husband who was lying asleep. So were the other members of the family. Her frantic cries woke everyone up and brought them on the run to the room where she was weeping covering her bleeding nose stub the tip of which was missing having been bitten off. The wailing Ratnawati claimed that in passion her husband had bitten off her nose.
Shocked was her husband as were other members of the family. The neighbours had also converged there. Everyone began to condemn the shameful act of the husband. The husband pleaded innocence but there were no takers. The news of the tragic incident spread fast and reached the ears of the law. The city kotwal (police chief) arrived with his force and demanded explanation.
He was told about the shameful incident. The kotwal thought it was a fit case to be taken to the king for the decision. The entire matter was related to the king and Ratnawati showed her bitten off nose. The disfigured face of the poor woman angered the king. Without any further investigation the king ordered the execution of the accused husband. The pleadings of the husband made no impression on the king.
The news spread that the husband of Ratnawati was sentenced to death for his crime by the king. The thief also heard the news and he decided to save the life of the innocent man. Next day he went to the court and revealed to the king the entire incident he had been witness to.
When the king asked him for the proof the thief said, “Lord! In that room the lover’s dead body should be still there. The bitten off nose of the woman probably is still in the mouth of the corpse.”
The king asked the kotwal to check the room the thief was talking about. The statement of the thief was found to be true and the corpse mouth did contain the bitten off nose of the woman.
The king ordered immediate release of the husband with monetary compensation. Ratnawati was banished from the kingdom.”
Betal paused and asked, “Vikramaditya! Tell me who is the real culprit in this tale?”
Vikramaditya did not reply and kept walking silently. He had made up his mind not open his mouth lest Betal should again fly back.
After a while Betal spoke, “Alright Raja! I am going to tell you one more interesting story. You may answer both solutions together. It does not matter.”
Thus, Betal started to narrate another tale.
“There lived a religious man called Mahadhama in the town of Indrapura. Shridhana was the name of his son. The son was a rogue and a very cruel character. Seeing his son having nature just opposite to his own often saddened him. Fed up with the misdeeds of his son he one day turned him out of his house asking him to get lost.
Shridhana roamed around homeless. One day he reached a town called Chandranagara where lived a rich merchant named Hemaguna. The merchant had a marriageable daughter called Chandramukhi, a beautiful and desirable girl.
Shridhana had little money on him when he had left his house. He lived a miserly life now to make that money last as long as possible. By now he had run out of every paisa. He needed money badly to survive.
But from where he would get any money?
Then, he learnt about rich trader Hemaguna and decided to trick him. In a beggarly shape he went to the trader and said, “Dear sir, I am also a big trader like you from a town called Indrapura. On a business mission I had set out for this town but unfortunately on the way robbers struck on my caravan and took away everything leaving me in this beggarly state. Being a trader yourself I thought you would understand my predicament. To tell you the truth I have nothing.”
Hemaguna heard his story sympathetically and said, “Youngmen! Such tragedies happen with traders. You should not lose heart. Stay with me as my guest as long as you don’t receive help from your home.”
Shridhana was put up in the trader’s guest house. The servants were asked to take good care of him.
The merchant told his wife about the young trader who was their guest and his tragedy. The wife wanted to see the young tragedy struck trader. The family and its guest Shridhana sat for dinner together. The guest having taken bath and wearing new dress looked very handsome and charming. The host couple liked the guest and they at once thought of their daughter who needed to be married to a deserving youngman. And to the delight of the couple of Hemaguna and his wife the destiny had sent suitable groom to their home, so they thought.
After the dinner, Hemaguna spoke to his wife, “So, what do you think of the young Shridhana? If you approve him for our Chandramukhi I shall talk to him about it.” The wife gave her consent.
Hemaguna went to the guest room. He politely put the proposal of his daughter’s marriage to the young guest. It came as a big surprise for Shridhana. He had put on that act merely to squeeze a small amount of money out of the rich trader but here he was getting the offer to be his son-in-law. He couldn’t have dreamt of any such windfall. The luck was really smiling on him.
In his home town no one would have even thought of marrying his or her daughter to a good for nothing charlatan like him. He at once accepted the proposal to the delight of the host. Thus the rich trader got his daughter Chandramukhi married to Shridhana on the nearest auspicious day. The beauty of the bride made the rogue Shridhana smile at his luck. What a catch? The trader gave lakhs of rupees to the groom as dowry besides loads of gifts. It was like a lottery prize he hadn’t even bought ticket of!
The joy of evil minded Shridhana knew no bounds. For months he lived at the house of his in-laws making merry and living like a prince at their expense. His wife Chandramukhi did not feel good about it. Infact she was feeling embarrassed about it whenever she faced her parents.
One day she nudged her husband, “Master! Why aren’t we going to our home? I want to meet your parents and see my new marital home as all the young brides do.”
“Sure, surely we shall go, my darling,” crafty Shridhana said hugging his wife and whispered, “To tell you the truth I had forgotten everything. Lost in your love as I have been.”
The very next day Shridhana announced that he was taking his bride home. The preparations were made. He secured the additional gifts and money he received from the generous trader and his wife. Then, he set out with the loads. He chose a route that led through a dense and desolate forest. There was a well in the jungle sunk by some man of charity for the benefit of travellers. There, the evil Shridhana said, “Darling Chandramukhi! We are tired and must take some rest here. What do you say? You need a breather.”
Chandramukhi readily agreed. Shridhana spread a durrie under a shady tree and the two sat down. Even before departure the evil man had thought of a diabolic plan to got rid of his wife. The well was the part of the plan. He knew about its existence. The resting under the tree was also premeditated.
There they opened the bundle that contained their journey food. After taking lunch Shridhana spoke to his wife, “Darling, mind if I tell you something?”
“No! Tell me what is it, master?”
“This is a dangerous route, my Chandra. You should not be wearing all this jewellery. We will be in trouble if robbers spot us.”
Chandramukhi thought her husband was right. She took of all the ornaments and bundled them. Her husband took charge of the bundle. He was inwardly smiling at the simplicity of his trusting wife.
Then Shridhana took his wife to the well on the pretext of getting some water for freshening up. As planned he pushed Chandramukhi in the deep well and decamped with money and all the valuables. The evil Shridhana went to another town and started spending money on drinking, gambling and whoring. He was spending like a prince.
Meanwhile, the well in which Chandramukhi got pushed into had little water. She sustained some injuries in the head and lost consciousness. She was not fatally hurt.
After a few hours Chandramukhi regained consciousness and began to shout for help. Outside a horse man happened to be passing by that well. Trapped woman heard the hoof falls of a horse and she begain to scream at the top of her voice. The horse rider heard her cries for help. He was surprised as to what a woman could be doing in that desolate forest? He got off his horse and peeped into the well. A woman was down at the bottom frantically waving her hands pleading for a rescue. With the help of a rope the horseman pulled Chandramukhi out of the well.
Chandramukhi told the rescuer, “Kind sir! Newly married I was going to my marital home with my husband. Here a dacoit gang struck at us. They took away all my ornaments and threw me in this well. My husband and all his money, the robbers decamped with. I don’t know the fate of my poor husband.”
Chandramukhi had concealed the evil act of her husband. The rescuer of the lady was a very generous, kind and religious man. Dutifully he got Chandermukhi restored with her parents. The tragedy saddened her parents. She did not reveal the truth to her parents as well. The same dacoit story she narrated to her parents.
The time went by. Chandramukhi would recall the treacherous act of her husband and cry whenever she was alone. She would not share her secret with anyone. Meanwhile, Shridhana was spending ill gotten money with both hands on all the vices he could think of. The money was going out fast. A day arrived when he was left with nothing.
He was once again a pauper. Now what to do? He could still go to his in-laws with yet another story of tragedy and squeeze money out of the old trader. But there was a danger. It was possible that the true story of his treachery had become known to them somehow. There were many possibilities. He decided to secretly find out if the trader family had learnt about his misdeed.
In a disguise he went in the neighbourhood and did some investigation. He learnt that his wife Chandramukhi had escaped from the well. Shridhana was informed that poor Chandramukhi and her husband were robbed by dacoits in the forest and she was thrown in the well to die while her husband was kidnapped by them. His fate was not known. He learnt a kind man had rescued Chandramukhi and got her to her parents. He heaved a sigh of relief that his wife had not exposed his crime. He thanked her for that and hoped she would protect him in future too.
So, again he went to Hemaguna in beggarly shape as if he had managed to escape from the captivity of the dacoits. Hemaguna was extremely pleased to see his son-in-law alive and safely back. He hugged Shridhana and cried and asked how he managed to escape.
Shridhana put on a crying act and said, “Yes, father! Somehow I did manage to escape from the clutches of those crude dacoits. They tortured me and kept me hungry. It was…so…horrible. After escaping I roamed around in the forest as I could not think properly…I could only say Chandramukhi…O Chandramukhi… and nothing else…”
“Then…?” Hemaguna sobbed and pressed Shridhana to his chest in tight embrace.
“Then…one day I remembered,” the evil liar cast the net of his words, “…I remembered I had a kind and a generous angel in my father-in-law. Why should I roam around like a homeless wretch…and here I am in the protective arms of my father…”
Hemaguna patted the back of his son-in-law and said encouraging word, “Son, now you have nothing to worry. Take courage. Everything will be alright. You are in your own home. Take ample rest and try to forget the past tragedies. We shall work out a bright future for you.”
When the rogue was told his wife was back safe and sound he put on an act of being ecstatic. He squealed, “O my Chandramukhi! Where are you?” and rushed in seemingly to see his wife alive. Hemaguna watched him rush in with a smile on his face. Shridhara went in and apologized to his wife for his dastardly act and promised to remain faithful to her forever if she forgave him. Generous Chandramukhi pardoned her undeserving husband. He stayed at the house of his in-laws for some days.
Then he again set out with his wife for his own town and home. Chandramukhi trusted him in good faith. And he chose the same route. This time he did not push his wife into the well. More dastardly act than before he committed. First he murdered Chandramukhi and then threw her dead body into the well. This time no one would save her. With all the money and valuables Shridhana decamped. In another town he began another episode of his vice life.”
After narrating the tale Betal asked, “Raja Vikramaditya! You heard two stories. The first was related to the judgement of a king and the second was a father’s faith in the husband of his daughter. Which one was the more commendable?”
Vikramaditya replied, “None!”
“None? What does that mean?” asked surprised Betal. Vikramaditya explained, “Listen Betal! In the first story the most commendable role was that of the thief. He was very compassionate and honest in his own way. He had the great spirit to see the justice done and an innocent saved. The king had already done the damage to the justice by announcing the sentence without getting the matter investigated. But the very courageous act of the thief brought out the truth and the real culprit could be punished. Hence, I give the thief top marks.”
Betal smiled and asked, “The other story?”
Raja Vikramaditya answered, “In the second story the role of Chandramukhi was most commendable. She accepted death at the hands of her evil husband but did not reveal the truth which would have brought infamy to her man. Thus, in the first case the thief was the praiseworthy and in the second case the loyal wife Chandramukhi displayed praiseworthy self-sacrifice to protect the image of her marital status.”
And with that Betal giggled and flew back to the branch hee-hawing to hand upside down.
In this way Vikramaditya time and again reclaimed the Betal from the branch after revealing the answer to the poser each story posed. This happened 24times. Then in the 25th occasion Betal narrated a tale, the 25th. It again produced a question.
This time the correct answer truly eluded Raja Vikramaditya. He remained silent and Betal had to remain on his shoulder. There was no danger of the head of Vikramaditya getting shattered.
